Motor fuel



Patented May 2Q, 1924.

STATE&

mean-'3 I @FFHQE.

RALPH n. MOKEE, or new roan, n. Y.

MOTOR FUEL.

No Drawing.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RALPH H. MGKEE, a citizen of the United States,residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Motor Fuels,

of-which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to motor fuel, and in its preferred embodimentcomprises a mixture of shale oil, benzol, and alcohol containing a smallamount of ether.

In the making of motor fuels for internal I combustion engines employingalcohol, it is amount of toluene, and the alcohol carries Y a smallamount of ether. The percentage of Y ether present in the finished fuelwill vary according to its use, and whether it is to be used in warm orcold weather, but such fuels normally contain from 3 to 10 per cent ofether.

Motor fuels in which ether is present gen- 7 erally Iglive trouble fromtwo causes; they cause t e engine to knock, and in the presence ofalcohol, they form organic acids such as acetic acid. In themanufactureof ether,

1 a small amount of ethyl peroxide is usually formed, which reacts uponthe alcohol to form organic acids. 'Ihese. acids cause corrosion in tankcars, storage tanks, and automobile cylinders. i

I have found that where shale oil is substituted for petroleum productsin the motor fuels heretofore described, a mixture will be obtained inwhich the disadvantages of the use of'ether are overcome and theadvantage of ease in starting is maintained. 'Ihese shale oils are highin nitrogen bases, particularly in members of the pyridine and iso sovquinoline series. I accordingly employ the more volatile or gasolinelike fraction of shale oil in place of the corresponding fraction ofwell petroleum in the motor fuels heretofore described and obtaina fuelin which the knocking caused by the ether is overcome and the corrosivetendency of the fuel mixture is overcome. The gasoline like fraction ofshale oil employed is preferably the fraction having a gravity of .650to .740

Application filed January 16, 1922. Serial No. 529,771.

and distilling between 100 F. and 350 F. Such fractions have .a flashpoint at quite low temperatures, even below 32 F. Such fractions, whenof the unrefined shale naph-' tha, are strong odored, due to thepresence of nitrogen bases. It has heretofore been necessary toadd'aniline or a similar sub stance to the fuel to prevent knocking orcorrosion when ether is employed, but by using the shale oil derivativesin place of the petroleum, the same result is obtained withoutadditional cost.

In a typical embodiment of the invention, I employ about one-third shaleoil distillate, from which the pyridines and isoquinolines have not beenremoved, one-third benzol products consisting of commercial benzol and asmall amount of toluene, and one-third alcohol consisting of alcohol andan. amount of ether suflicient to form from 3 to 10 per cent of theentire mixture. The proportions,

may be varied within wide limits. Under some circumstances, the shaleoil derivative present may be employed in large percentages up to and inexcess of per cent,

and the alcohol and benzol products may b accordinglyfdecreased.

As a somewhat different method. of practicing the invention, I havefound that satisfactory results may be obtained by eliminating thebenzol, in which case the alcohol content is preferably proportionatelyincreased. In this embodiment of the invention, I prefer to employabsolute alcohol rather than the 95 per cent alcohol ordinarilyemployed. By providing such a mixture, oil containing the nitrogenbases, the mixture overcomes the tendency of the ether to cause bookingand prevents corrosion of the engine cylinders, storage tank andtank'cars 'by the formation of organic acids such as using shale Iunderstood that the details. of procedure,

and proportion of ingredients may be widely varied, and that knownchemical equivalents may be employed in place of the materialsmentioned, without departing from the spirit of the invention or thescope of the subjoined claims. g

"Having thus described my invention, I claim: .I

1. A mixed'fuel for internal combustion engines comprising the gasolinelike fraction of shale oil having nitrogen bases therein.

2. A mixed fuel for internal combustion engines comprising the gasolinelike fraction of shale oil having nitrogen bases therein and alcohol.

3. A mixed fuel for internal combustion engines comprising the gasolinelike fraction of shale oil having nitrogen bases therein, alcohol andether.

4. A mixed fuel for-internal combustion engines comprising the gasolinelike fraction of shale oil having nitrogen bases therein, alcohol andether, the ether being present in approximately from 3 to 10 per cent ofthe fuel.

5. A. mixed fuel for internal combustion engines comprising the gasolinelike fraction of shale oil having nitrogen bases therein, alcohol, etherand benzol.

6. A mixed fuel for internal combustion engines comprising the gasolinelike fraction of shale oil having nitrogen bases therein, alcohol, etherand commercial benzol containing toluol.

7. A mixed fuel for internal combustion engines comprising the gasolinelike frac tion of shale oil having nitrogen bases therein, alcoholcontaining a relatively small amount of ether and benzol containing arelatively small amount of toluol.'

8. A mixed fuel for internal combustion engines comprising the gasolinelike fraction of shale oil and'alcohol.

9. A mixed fuel for internal combustion engines comprising the gasolinelike fraction of shale oil, alcohol and ether.

10.-A mixed fuel for internal combustion engines comprising the gasolinelike fraction of shale oil, alcohol, ether and benzol.

11. A mixed fuel for internal combustion engines comprising the gasolinelike fraction of shale oil, alcohol containing a rela' tively smallamount of ether and commercial benzol containing a relatively smallamount of toluol.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

RALPH. MOKEE. Witnesses:

ARTHUR W. Hrxson, JEROME J. MORGAN.

